The price of piracy - 27 Mar 2012

This week, on the music front, Stephen Hollis sets out the costs to the music industry and individual artists who produce the music we all enjoy as he discusses the rise of the pirates of the digital age, and we also look at a different type of piracy. This is a far more deadly one in terms of being life-threatening (and even more costly in monetary terms), and it is also receiving attention, this time on the high seas, with anti-piracy efforts being boosted by a joint navy exercise involving the German and South African navies.

For all of you who find bank fees... how can we say this tactfully... onerous... you may be interested in the tiff between two of SA's major banks as FNB bites back at Standard Bank on the subject of bank charges.

And to end off, Martin Sprott and Dr Philip Bode say that South African companies had better get with the action and join the social media conversation. As the writers say, in one way or another, social media has always been with us - but now your customers are not just chatting about you and your products over the fence, but on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. That means comments (good and bad) are reaching a far wider audience - so you should capture the "energy" and turn it to your advantage. As Sprott and Bode say... put social media at the core of your customer- engagement strategy.